Judiciary upstate sorely lacks women

Family Court Judge Margaret Walsh’s bid for the Supreme Court nomination for the Third Judicial District, after being passed over by the Albany County Democratic Committee, underscores the struggle women face to make it to the bench and climb its arduous ladder. Studies by the Center for Women in Government & Civil Society, University at Albany, show a persistent underrepresentation of women in the judiciary.

Given comparable male/female rates of law school graduation and percentages of successful female lawyers, disparities cannot be attributed to the lack of qualified women, but to restricted opportunity and access. The stark difference between upstate New York, where women’s representation is rare in some courts, and the downstate region, where women often outnumber men, demonstrates the regional character of such disparities.

Balanced representation on the bench matters. Public trust, legitimacy and credibility of the judiciary are at stake. Judges must be representative of the people they serve to inspire confidence in the fair administration of justice. Drawing on larger pools of talent and experiences in the nomination, appointment and election of judges strengthens the health of our democratic system.

Organizers of a Sept. 12 event at Albany Law School called “Everything you need to know about becoming a judge” hope to demystify paths to the bench. Mobilizing more women to run for election and holding political leaders accountable for appointing and nominating more women judges are critical steps to a judiciary that looks like the people it serves.

Anne Saile

President, Board of Directors, Center for Women in Government & Civil Society